hello handsome...

via

more old silver

via The New Victorian Ruralist

via The New Victorian Ruralist

just as crazy as ever over the lovely patina and aged tarnish of old silver pieces. my friend diane and I are on a hunt right now for worn silver plates and platters to hang just like in this post.

I wonder which one of us will collect enough first.

happy hunting for your treasures this weekend! donna 

Beautiful antique table

The table is from the beginning of the 19th century and have taken the lead on my wish list. It �only� costs NOK 10 300 (USD 1 800 and Euro 1 320). If you�re into antiques you may have a further look here.

With inspiration from The Essence of the Good Life.

I want to go there...

minty

minty.

the fresh, new space that nelya, jenny, and susie have just opened in atlanta's antique factory.

 not local? minty is on-line, too.

good stuff, folks. good stuff. 

beauty

karina gentinetta

vintage florentine furniture

at home in arkansas

interior alchemy

decorare

seriously addicted to these little florentine pieces...

have a wonderful weekend!

donna

at the auction!

Do you love a good antiques auction? When I dealt in antiques, I used to go to auctions all the time. I absolutely loved the hunt. Here's how it usually went down:

The preview: walk around and check it all out. Is there something here to snap up at a good price then resell? Is there something here that I just have to have for myself ?(the real reason for being here, after all.)

The crowd: who else is here? other dealers? friends? who is looking at what?

The wait: sit toward the back and watch the bidding. when that great thing comes up, bid just before the auctioneer cries "sold!" If you still have competition, re-bid fast like you're never gonna stop....(although sometimes you have to!)

I often had butterflies, especially over bidding on items I knew I wasn't likely to see again soon. And the adrenalin rush that came when I got a great piece for a song kept me coming back.

I've gotten some good things at antiques auctions through the years and I've recently started going again, just for fun. I'm a penny-pincher, so I've never spent a fortune on pieces but I've also never regretted any auction purchase I've made. I've only regretted the ones I didn't make. 

the enchanted home

You know me. I'm a mirror nut. I have a weakness for antique bamboo framed mirrors like this one, so when I had a chance to buy a lot of them a few years ago at an auction, I said, "baby, you're mine."

the center one with the crackled silvering is my favorite

I'd tell you what I paid for them, but then you'd hate me...

What have you scored at auction...?

Ralph Lauren Tudric Pewter

I am absolutely nuts over this New Orleans home, rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina and stylishly refurnished with an amazingly small amount of money.   

Karina Gentinetta painted several antique pieces in her home, including the secretary above, Ralph Lauren Tudric Pewter.

The french-style headboard, above, which Karina had made then upholstered herself, is also painted Tudric Pewter.

Ralph Lauren

Tudric Pewter

makes me want to try it out...

Check out the piece on this home in  The New York Times.

Thanks to Nelya and Artie who first made me swoon with these photos.

florentine vanity...

I want this florentine chest!

have a wonderful weekend!

old domes and cloches...

arcobaleno

someone else's initials...

I have a big thing for old, monogrammed silver. The older and more tarnished it is, the better I like it. Whether it's my husband's great grandmothers piece, or a coin silver spoon from the thrift shop, silver with an initial on it is almost impossible for me to resist... 

perfect grays...

atelier september

...hope you have the best weekend ever,

especially all you moms...

exteriors...

arcobaleno

monday goodness...

Pia Jane Bijkerk Photography

hey, that's my chair...

chair from the Tony Duquette Tastemaker Tag Sale

One Kings Lane

I've recently discovered a new blog that I like, Sybaritic. William has a good eye. 

Saturday, he featured a few of the Tony Duquette items from the One Kings Lane Tastemaker Tag Sale. 

That chair from the sale really looked familiar....  

my chair

Here's my chair. So similar, aren't they...?

I suspect both chairs are from the Victorian era. They are made of  mache with mother-of-pearl inlay and hand-painting.

I really do love mine. You know me, I'm a neutral gal, so a piece like this kicks a room up.  I bought mine at an estate auction a few years ago. At the time, I wondered if I paid too much. I think I spent around $225.

It's a safe bet the Duquette chair went for lots more. Gotta love local auctions. Don't miss them when you have the chance.

(And I like the legs on my chair better...)

antique engravings

scout designs

I love a grouping of antique prints or engravings like the one above from Scout Designs.

Here's a set of six engravings in my house; I found them at an antique shop years ago. I thought the blue/gray tones were interesting. I wish I knew more about them.  

gray chest

room seventeen

silver leaf mirrors and frames

I am loving silver leaf frames right now...

out with the new, in with the old...

I totally want to fill my cabinets with vintage white and cream-colored dishes...

photos from arcobaleno 

Antique Love......New Find!

Living in New England we�re blessed with many things, one being antique shops. One serendipitous find and my favorite is a place called Red Chair Antiques owned and operated by Jocie Sinauer since 1997.

Frequent trips abroad to Europe as well along the Eastern seaboard she�s able to stock her shop with French, Swedish and American furniture as well as some amazing smalls.

You'll find stacks of linen sheets, hemp runners and grain sacks......

Stacks of pillows made from grain sacks and linens brought back from France.....

and artful displays and vignettes. Pictured above is a French mirror paired with a Hungarian bread cabinet and small zinc finds.....love it!

Jocie and her husband Dave Chicane, who�s an amazing chef and restaurant owner, have had their home photographed for numerous publications. Pictured above and below are two shots from their home, look how calm and soothing the rooms are, Dave has a great eye too!

Look above the window there on the left, don't you love how Jocie hung an antique curtain rod without a curtain! Would you believe those amazing swing arm lights aren't antiques but from pottery barn and those chairs...free from their local recycling center.

Since it was a long holiday weekend I decided to get out and do a little browsing. A few things caught my eye like this burlap covered chair.

This amazing French hutch that Jocie had flown over from France really wanted to come home with me but the husband was there and I like living but isn't it GORGEOUS?

So in the interest of a happy marriage and the fact I had been looking for a reasonably price French bistro table in black this one came home with me. I'm not quite sure where it's going yet but at least the husband liked it too. If you see anything pictured that caught your eye, not my bistro table, give Jocie a call since she does ship. Be sure to visit her website as well.

Red Chair Antiques

14 Depot Street

Peterborough, NH 03458

603-924-5953

http://www.redchair-antiques.com/